Improvement in producing coloring matter from vegetable substances



UNrTEn STATES, PATENT Osman;

' Louis MARIE FRAiIooIs BREronmERnoF 'LAVAL, rnAnonnssicnon To HIMSELF AND EDWARD GROISSANT, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT m PRODUCING COLORING MATTER FROM VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 142,892, dated September 16, 1873; application filed May 15, 1873. v v a I To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, L. MARIE FRANgoIs.

BREroNNrsRE, of Laval, in the Republic of France, have invented an Improved Process of Obtaining Oolorin g Matters from Vegetable Substances, Of which the following is a specification:

This invention relates to a new manner of treating organic bodies with alkaline sulphunets and persulphurets at a temperature varying between 100 and 310 centigrade, accordtreated and the shade to be obtained, so as thereby to transform them into coloring matter.

The organic substances to be transformed by my method into coloring matter are put directly-that is to say, without any interven-' ing or preparatory steps, and without anyprevious transformation, in the shape in which they may originally beinto contact with the dissolved sulphurets or per-sulphurets, at a temperature properly regulated, and are thereby transformed into definite products, result ing from the chemical combinations.

' The shade of these coloring substances may vary, according to the condition or details of process, which may be determined by the operator. j

' The combination thus developed constitutes an'organic sulphide, the products obtained by my process being really the result of a true combination, so that this combination may be a determined by the result. If, forinstance, saw

dust is mixed with a solution of the sulphuret of potash and the temperature is raised,

an abundant disengagement of sulphureted I hydrogen will be noticed until the tempera- I ture has reached about,30Q,

sulphuret is in this way decomposed. A part of its: mass combines with the hydrogen of the organic body, and the carbon which remains will be found in astate of separate combination.

' The substances-so treated will be changed I into-coloring matter of great power, all, however, completely and e 1y soluble in water.

It may here be remarked that the same materials will produce different shades, according to the degreeof temperature, duration of the The alkaline longed. A reaction may also be'produced at the regular boiling-point; if, for example, extract of chestnut-wood is added, and the Silliple mixture of the liquid sulphurets with such extract is dissolved in water, which will suffice todisengage the hydrogen, while other substances, such as sawdust, humus, &c., will require a temperature of 200,or more, for the reaction to take place.

t Among the numerous organic bodies which may, by my process, be changed into coloring materials, Twill mention the following, with which I have experimented, and always with success: Sawdust, humus, and vegetable matter; the lichens and mosses, bran, flour, gluten, starch, fecula, sugar, glucose, cellulose,waste paper, cotton, &c. tannic and gallic acids, gelatine, casei'ne, fibrine, albumine, blood, horn, feathers, &c.',. as well as animal-'excretions,

chimney-soot, tartaric, citric, and formic acids,

&c., as well as their alkaline-salts: rosin, .gali-pot, aloe, pock-wood, dragons blood, &c. purified gum-lac, gum dragon, gum arabic, 85c.

In fact, most, if not all, organic-bodies maybe treated by my process. 1

From the preceding description it will appear that by this process an almost indefinite series of new coloringproducts can be obtained,.giving the greatest variety of shades by the aid of substances which are very abundant in, nature, and which, in comparisonwiththe importance of the result, are almost of no real value, the reaction or combination being obtained by the simple boiling of these substances with the alkaline sulphurets or, .persdlphurets-that is to say, with substances abundant and cheap. A

One of the characteristic distinctions of my process is, that the substances which are em-' ployed-are for the greater part not in themselves coloring materials, but that they will, when directlyacted upon by alkaline sulphurets, or their elements, be transformed into new and absolute coloring products; This process is not only applicable to the produc tion of new coloring matter from organic subprocess being terminated by carbona te of stances possessing no coloring qualities, but soda in a boiling condition, a mce grayish l1- also to increase the efiectiveness of soluble lac is obtained. L g coloringmatter alreadyused in dyeing by treat- If the temperature would have been ning the same with certain substances, and" creased until desiccation would have set 1n, thereby modifying or enhancing their qualiand even beyond, 7, the product would no ties. v p longer be grayish lilac, but a beautiful violet In. this way logwoo'd, chestnut-wood, pockand brown, the deeper. the longer the heat wood, sandal-wood, 860., powdered or in form had been kept up, and the higher its degree. of extract, catechu, madder, waste powder of As, on the contrary, the temperature should m'adder,previously boiled, fustet, annotto,&c., be still more raised in order to produce the may be treated. In modifying their composi-' reaction in most cases, notably in the treattion, new properties may be imparted to these ment of sawdust, of humus, bran, 8m, it is substances." The colors treated upon by my advisable to introduce the articles to be transmethod, being conveniently made separate,.or, formed, with the solution of sulphureted alby mixture into an intense black, into gray kalines, into covered sheet-metal vessels in of all sorts, violet, yellow, maroon, or other order to avoid ignition of the sulphureted-hy' 'brown, corn color, olive color, &c., and fixed drogen gas, and to place such vessels into to the tissues by the bichromate of potash, for heating chambers, where. desiccation takes example, enjoy frequently a remarkable staplace at a degree necessary for the perfect bility against the influence of air, acids, alka-' combination of the elements. On these prinlines, or soap. They may, moreover, be modiciples the proportions necessary for obtaining fied in a suitable manner, according to the from oak-soil a beautiful brown tint may be mordants used in fixing them to the fibers. stated as follows: Oak-soil, by which term I I will now more fully describe my new promean the top-soil or humus found under oakcess, explain its advantages, and its eflect trees, twenty grammes; sulphur, forty cubic upon industrial transactions, and it will be obcentimeters. This mixture is dried in a heatserved that the process is very simple, cheap, ing-chamber at 210, for the combination to i e and readily put into practice. take place. i v a The degree of temperature, duration of op- The sulphur which we employ in thlsproeration, and the proportions of the materials cess, and which may be specially-prepared for used, will vary indefinitely, in accordance it, is composed of seventy .cubic cent meters with the materials to be treated and the shades of soda at 40, and of thirty grammes of the Y tobe produced. In every case,however,whatflowers of sulphur, added after combination ever the substance to be treated, the essential with six cubic centimeters of water.

features of the process remainv the same, and The products should be preserved in air and its simplicity renders its application very easy. water, tight cases. Whatsoever, therefore, It is not possi le to give the exact quantities the proportions employed for a given organic and formulas for each shade that can be prosubstance and of the sulphur may be, the mixduced on this new plan, with the severalor ture, being submitted to a progressive temperganic materials that can thereby bechanged ature, will form a combination, the commenceinto coloring matterment of which will be revealed by the disen- .Knowing, as .has already been stated, that gagement of sulphureted hydrogen, the mat the more the temperature is raised, the-nearer ter resulting constituting a coloring product the shade produced will approach the black, with 'a shade proportionate to the proportions or at least a very deep color, it is for the opof matter and to the height and duration of erators to vary the proportions and temperathe temperature to which the same was sub-v ture, so as to obtain the desired result. mitted. The same conditions of proportion- I will, however,'iridicate some results, and ality of matter and temperature will always lay down some rules, which may serve as a reproduce a similar product, giving the same guide, as the general mode of treatmentwill shade. The nature, style, and value of the be the same in all cases. As thecombination shades, therefore, always depend on the will does notrequire but little heat-as, for ex of vthe operator. a I ample,i n treating aloes--the'substance'may be 1t isto be seen from the preceding that the *boiled in large kettles. If then, say, three combination is obtained either by first treatgrammes of aloes are .to be d1ssolved,'they are 'ing the substances by alkalies and then addsoaked in ten cubic centimeters of caustic" in" sulphur,.or by directlytreating them with soda at 40, and to whichten cubic centi- .al alinesulphurets. It is therefore evident meters of water have beenadded, and at the that every-combination or process by which, n ordinary boiling temperature three grammes the matter to be transformed is brought in of the flowers of sulphur are finally added, contact with sulphur, and'of an alkaline, will whereupon the combination will be immedi: be included in the method herein described.- 1; ately effected.

If, by means of the product obtained, which all' kinds of fabrics. For linenand silk, care presents a grayish/black, shade, hanks of must betaken to neutralize the hurtful excess hreadior cotton are colored, and the color of the alkalineby an acid, such asfibrinthen fixed with the bichromate of potash, the; stance, acetic acid." The product may also be Our coloring materials may-be applied to injure animal fiber.

Only the sulphurets and persulphurets have herein been described; but it is to be understood that the use of the congenerics of sulphur, notably bromine and iodine, will be equivalents thereof. 3 v 4 Indigenous substances which would otherwise be useless, and which'can be purchased at a low price, may, by this process, be readily andat small expense transformed into vaL uable and eflicient coloring materials. A number of ordinary dyes may by this process alsobe modified or changed? .by consolidating them.

I claim as my invention, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The process of converting organicsubstances into coloring matter, substantially as herein specified.

2. The process of modifying coloring matter for obtaining new. tints, as set forth. 7

3. The combination of alkaline sulphurets or persulphurets, or of alkalines and sulphur, with organic substances, for converting them 1 into coloring, matter, as set forth.

tours BRETONNIERE. Witnesses FRED. Hims, FRANK V: BRIEsEN., 

